Bitcoin ATM decline: Over 400 machines went off the grid in under 60 days

March 1, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Analysis

Between December 2020 and January 2022, more than 1,000 crypto and Bitcoin ATMs were installed each month.

Crypto ATMs — one of the key infrastructure pillars for the mass adoption of cryptocurrencies — have seen a drastic reduction this year. In the first two months of 2023, the net cryptocurrency ATMs installed globally reduced by 412 machines.

Since 2014, the total number of crypto ATMs has maintained a steady upward trajectory while catering to millions of users worldwide for seamless crypto-fiat conversions. For over a year, between December 2020 and January 2022, more than 1,000 crypto and Bitcoin (BTC) ATMs were being installed every month. However, the bear market had an immediate impact on its growth.

*Net crypto ATM installations worldwide. Source: Coin ATM Radar*

September 2022 was the first time in history when total crypto ATMs saw a net decline. However, 2023 marked a new low by recording a decline in total crypto ATM installations for two consecutive months.

In January 2023, the global crypto ATM network shed 289 machines, further dropping by 123 machines in February. While the ongoing decline was initially purely attributed to geopolitical tensions, revenue losses and a prolonged bear market, service providers have been trying out cheaper alternatives for operations.

Recently, crypto ATM provider Bitcoin Depot converted its 7,000 physical machines to BitAccess software. The move helped reduce operational costs related to software licensing fees, which cost $3 million annual.

Do you have an ATM in your area and are unsure how to use it? Check out Cointelegraph’s beginner’s guide to learn everything about Bitcoin ATMs.

On the other hand, payments giant Mastercard partnered with Binance to launch a card for crypto payments in Latin America.

Olá, Brasil! #Binance Card has just launched in Brazil - another step towards crypto adoption pic.twitter.com/UJRmpMhpbQ
— Binance (@binance) January 30, 2023

In a press release shared with Cointelegraph, Guilherme Nazar, Binance Brazil’s general manager, stated:

“Payments is one of the first and most obvious use cases for crypto, yet adoption has a lot of room to grow.”

Moreover, at launch, the card offered up to 8% cash back in crypto on eligible purchases and zero fees on some ATM withdrawals.

DCG losses top $1B on the back of 3AC collapse in 2022

February 27, 2023 Coin Telegraph

DCG losses top B on the back of 3AC collapse in 2022

3AC

The crypto conglomerate reported that falling crypto prices and the fallout from Three Arrows Capital’s loan default to Genesis affected its results.

Cryptocurrency venture capital conglomerate Digital Currency Group (DCG) has reported losses of over $1 billion in 2022 due largely to the contagion relating tocollapse of crypto hedge fund, Three Arrows Capital (3AC).

DCG reportedly lost $1.1 billion last year, according to its Q4 2022 investor report, and said the results “reflect the impact of the Three Arrow Capital default upon Genesis” along with the “negative impact” from falling crypto prices.

Genesis is the lending arm of DCG, the firm filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in late January. Genesis is 3AC’s largest creditor as the company loaned the now-bankrupt hedge fund $2.36 billion, 3AC filed for bankruptcy in July 2022.

DCG’s fourth-quarter losses came to $24 million while revenues came in at$143 million.

Full-year 2022 revenues for DCG came in at $719 million. The firm held total assets of $5.3 billion with cash and liquid holdings of $262 million and investments — such as shares in its Grayscale trusts — amounted to $670 million.

The remaining assets were held by divisions of its asset management subsidiary Grayscale and DCG’s Bitcoin (BTC) mining business Foundry Digital.

Its equity valuation came in at $2.2 billion with a price per share of $27.93 which the report said was “generally consistent with the sector’s 75%-85% decline in equity values over the same period.”

It’s a significant decline from just over a year ago, when DCG declared on Nov. 1, 2021, that its valuation was more than $10 billion following the sale of $700 million worth of shares to companies like Alphabet Inc., Google’s parent company.

However, the company said it “hit a milestone” with the restructuring of Genesis.

The agreement proposed earlier in February would see DCG contribute its equity share in Genesis’ trading entity and bring all Genesis entities under the same holding company and see its trading entity sold off.

DCG would also exchange an existing $1.1 billion promissory note due in 2032 for convertible preferred stock. Its existing 2023 term loans with an aggregate value of $526 million would also be refinanced and made payable to creditors.

A Genesis creditor said the plan “has a recovery rate of approximately $0.80 per dollar deposited, with a path to $1.00” for those owed money by the firm.

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Crypto investors spent $4.6B buying ‘pump and dump’ tokens last year

February 17, 2023 Coin Telegraph

<div>Crypto investors spent .6B buying 'pump and dump' tokens last year</div>

chainalysis

Nearly 10,000 tokens launched on BNB and Ethereum last year are suspected to have been created just to dump on investors, according to Chainalysis.

Cryptocurrency investors funneled as much as $4.6 billion into crypto tokens suspected to be part of “pump and dump” schemes in 2022.

A Feb. 16 report from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis “analyzed all tokens launched” in 2022 on the BNB and Ethereum blockchains and found just over 9,900 bore characteristics of a "pump and dump" scheme.

A pump-and-dump scheme typically involves the creators orchestrating a campaign of misleading statements, hype, and Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO) to persuade investors into purchasing tokens while secretly selling their stake in the scheme at inflated prices.

Chainalysis estimated investors spent $4.6 billion worth of crypto buying the nearly more than 9,900 different suspected fraudulent tokens it identified.

The most prolific purported pump and dump creator Chainalysis identified — who was not named — is suspected of single-handedly launching 264 such tokens last year, with the firm explaining:

“Teams launching new projects and tokens can remain anonymous, which makes it possible for serial offenders to carry out multiple pump and dump schemes.”

Chainalysis classified a token as being “worth analyzing” as a potential "pump and dump" if it had a minimum of 10 swaps and four back-to-back days of trading on decentralized exchanges (DEXs) in the week after its launch. Of the 1.1 million new tokens launched last year, only over 40,500 fit the criteria.

If a token from this group saw a price decline in the first week of 90% or greater Chainalysis deemed it likely the token was a "pump and dump." The firm found that 24% of the 40,500 tokens analyzed fit the secondary criterion.

*A table showing the analytic breakdown and number of tokens purported to be fraudulent. Source:* *Chainalysis*

Chainalysis estimated that only 445 individuals or groups are behind the suspected pump-and-dump tokens — suggesting creators often launch multiple projects — and made $30 million in total profits from selling their holdings.

“It’s possible, of course, that in some cases, teams involved with token launches did their best to form a healthy offering, and the subsequent drop in price was simply due to market forces,” the firm added.

Despite the concerning statistics, in a separate report, the firm noted revenues from crypto scams were cut almost half in 2022 largely due to depressed crypto prices.

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Key takeaways from Circle’s $44.5B USDC reserve report

January 30, 2023 Coin Telegraph

<div>Key takeaways from Circle's .5B USDC reserve report</div>

Assets

Circle has released its reserve report for December 2022 highlighting over-collateralized asset holdings currently backing 44.5 billion USDC tokens in circulation.

USD Coin (USDC) issuer Circle has released an accountant-verified report of its treasury reserve holdings backing more than $44.5 billion worth of tokens currently in circulation.

Circle’s December 2022 reserve report, which was reviewed by GrantThornton accountancy group, breaks down the current make-up of the stablecoin issuer’s reserve vault. According to Circle, 44,553,543,212 USDC is currently backed by $44,693,963,701 U.S. dollars held in custody accounts.

It is worth noting that a significant portion of the latter amount is invested in a variety of U.S. Treasury bonds. As per Circle’s VP of accounting Timothy Singh, the fair value of assets in the USDC reserve is the total balance of USD denominated assets, including a mix of cash and treasury bonds.

Circle’s Reserve Fund is registered as a government money market fund. The equity interests in the fund are fully owned by Circle and include 14 different US Treasury Bills valued at over $23.5 billion. The fund also holds $48.9 million in cash while a further $33 million is due to the Fund, offset by ‘timing and settlement differences’.

Another two US Treasury Securities valued at $10.5 billion are reported in a separate reserve assets category, alongside another $10.5 billion in cash that is held by a number of financial institutions on behalf of Circle.

U.S. banks holding Circle’s cash reserves include the Bank of New York Mellon, Citizens Trust Bank, Customers Bank, New York Community Bank, Signature Bank, Silicon Valley Bank and Silvergate Bank.

Circle and payments platform Ripple were notable attendees that participated in cryptocurrency and blockchain focused workshops at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2023.

Circle’s vice president of global policy Corey Then said the organization had held discussions with policymakers, traditional companies, tech firms and humanitarian organizations to unpack the possibility of using USDC as a payment solution in the future.

Over the past two years, Circle’s position as a stablecoin issuer has consistently grown, leaving USDC as the second most used USD-backed stablecoin behind USDT Tether.

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